Reading the 20th Century discussion
Favourite Authors
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P.G. Wodehouse
Sue wrote: "I may well read that one with you. Today I picked up Piccadilly Jim at the library.It takes a lot of effort for Jimmy Crocker to become Piccadilly Jim - nights on the town roisterin..."
It's great fun.
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The Wodehouse books on Audible are, based on the ones I've heard, all wonderful. I am not sure I could bear listening to a sub par narration of the master.
As with most things, it varies from reader to reader but I’ve found all to which I’ve listened to be quite decent. But, then, I’m new to Wodehouse so I’ve no preconceptions and I have truly enjoyed each one. :)
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I saw a large collection of Wodehouse in the Oxfam window today. Unfortunately I never know which ones I own, so I need to write a list and pop back.
I have a list of all Wodehouse titles listed in a Google doc, Tania. If you’d like I can cut & paste it into an email, then you could just check off what you already own.
Thanks Renee, I've just written a list out. I have about 40 books, but the titles are largely similar, the characters are familiar, and the stories are more or less the same. (That doesn't make him less of a genius, though). Also I've been reading his books for over 30 years. Many times I've ended up with duplicates. I'm greedy when it comes to books. :-)
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https://www.audible.co.uk/special-pro...
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https://twitter.com/BBCArchive/status...
Wodehouse used to be among my favorite authors once.But reading him again,after many years,I don't enjoy him as much.Still,I love Jeeves and Bertie Wooster.My favourite books from many years ago are :Aunts Aren't Gentlemen
The Mating Season
Very Good Jeeves
Joy in the Morning
I wasn't a fan of Psmith and Ukridge,though I liked Blandings Castle.Also,particularly enjoyed :
Laughing Gas
The Luck of the Bodkins
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Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (1954)
After the drama of Post Captain, and whilst finishing off God Is an Englishman, a bit of Wodehouse is the perfect palate cleanser
I've not read Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit before however I know Bertie has another unwelcome entanglement with Florence Craye, to the chagrin of the magnificent, and very green eyed, Stilton Cheesewright
Meanwhile Aunt Dahlia (the nice aunt) is hoping to sell her magazine The Lady's Boudoir to a Mr. Trotter and enlists the help of her nephew.
Lord Sidcup (formerly known as Roderick Spode) also appears
And then there's the small matter of Bertie's moustache which is a bone of contention between him and Jeeves
My flagon frotheth over
Joy is unconfined
That's strange Nigeyb, I was just thinking about PGW only yesterday! Thinking it was time to break out What Ho! The best of P.G. Wodehouse which I bought last year. (An author, by the way, introduced to me by this very group! So thank you!) If I remember rightly, we had a theme at about this time last year, didn't we, of cheerful, jolly books, to ward off the winter blues. Well I was thinking yesterday that I might revisit that theme for this year.
I have just dug out What Ho! The best of P.G. Wodehouse again. The first story is 'Uncle Fred Flits By' and the very first sentence is:
"In order that they might enjoy their afternoon luncheon coffee in peace, the Crumpet had taken the guest whom he was entertaining at the Drones Club to the smaller and less frequented of the two smoking-rooms. In the other, he explained, though the conversation always touched an exceptionally high level of brilliance, there was apt to be a good deal of sugar thrown about."
And I'm smiling already!
I haven't read Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit so I'll be interested to know what you think of it.
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I have a copy of What Ho! The best of P.G. Wodehouse and it's a marvellous compendium
And yes, you're quite correct we did have a humour theme at this time last year.
That's a great opening paragraph - thanks for sharing it
I shall, of course, let you know my thoughts on Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit
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Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (1954)"
Well that didn't take too long
It's the usual Jeeves and Wooster comedy masterclass
Here’s my review
4/5
Great stuff. There is a P>G> Wodehouse thing on radio 4 at the moment. Jeeves and Wooster Live I think Michael Jarvis doing it. I can't check details at the mo, but it will be on BBC Sounds if anyone is interested.
I'm also picking up a Wodehouse soon, probably A Pelican at Blandings.
Nigeyb wrote: "Thanks TaniaA Pelican at Blandings (1969) is another latter day P.G. Wodehouse gem"
Pelican was one of the first Wodehouse books I read--and have loved ever since. I love it when Vanessa Polk says she's never met any pigs socially!
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Completely understandable. It's a book to treasure.
The mere mention of Vanessa Polk's name prompts an involuntary wave of pleasure
I've just read Bingo and the Peke Crisis from What Ho!: The Best of Wodehouse. Completely daft but very funny. I think it was originally out of Tales from the Drones Club. My anthology doesn't have all the other Drones stories but reviews seem to indicate that several of them are quite similar. I wonder if that's because he sold short stories singly or in small groups, to magazines for example, and never intended for them all to sit together in one book?
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Just reading the words The Drones Club makes me smile
That would be Bingo Little, of course, enduring the Peke crisis. I can already imagine the plot despite not having read it.
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The Inimitable Jeeves (1923) (Jeeves #2)
It's one I have read before. Bingo Little's mania for falling in love is the glue which holds these vignettes together. It's a joy of course, even though I can remember quite a few details from when I read this a good few years ago.
If only life were more like the world of PGW
I just purchased “A Wodehouse Bestiary” which should arrive today. I feel lucky that I have so many Wodehouse stories to discover yet!
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I have several authors that I savor 1 book at a time and Wodehouse is one of them. Sometimes I might read 2 in a row but that’s it. That’s the one downside of preferring vintage authors. You know when you finish the last book, it’s the very last. There are no more coming. Thankfully Wodehouse was a very prolific author so it will be a while before I come to the end of his stories.
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Please first explain to me what kind of humor he uses. I have noted that humor for one person is very different for another."
All of these are good PGW recommendations Chrissie...
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/uni...
The humour? Wordplay, misunderstandings, social awkwardness etc. All very innocent and, for those that take to it, completely delightful
I hope you enjoy his work, if so you're life will be enhanced significantly. Not everyone seems to get him which is a complete mystery to me, but there we are
Chrissie wrote: "Thank you. It is hard to pick one so I will with the first on the list"
Good luck Chrissie
I hope you enjoy your first foray into the wonderful world of P.G. Wodehouse
This thread is great. I am going to have to give Woodhouse a try.
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Judy wrote: "I've read that their writing styles were both influenced by the same teacher, which is quite a thought!http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8784096.stm
This piece asks which of the two wrote the line:
"s..."
Reading back over the Raymond Chandler discussion earlier I was reminded about the Wodehouse/Dulwich connection. This as ever had me idly dreaming about what might have happened if the pair had teamed up somehow and suddenly it struck me that we don't have to wonder.
If you really want to know what might have happened if Chandler had stuck around in old Blighty and teamed up with Wodehouse to write a series of humorous crime novels then look no further than this https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
You can't go far wrong with this little trilogy about a disreputable art dealer and his man Jock. It is Chandler with regard to the criminal element and all written with the easy humour of Wodehouse.
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The Mortdecai Trilogy by Kyril Bonfiglioli....
...sounds just the ticket
Charlie Mortdecai is a louche art dealer with some distinctly dubious friends in the London underworld and some great connections to the British upper classes. He features in the three brilliant black-comedy thrillers originally published in the 70sand collected in this volume: DON'T POINT THAT THING AT ME, AFTER YOU WITH THE PISTOL, and SOMETHING NASTY IN THE WOODSHED.
'A writer capable of a rare mixture of wit and imaginative unpleasantness' Julian Barnes
I read the first one, Don't Point That Thing At Me, which I liked, but I haven't got any further with the series yet.Today I picked up Sam the Sudden
The only one in the bookshop that I knew I didn't have.
I've finished Eggs, Beans And Crumpets, a xollection of short stories, the first ones with Bingo and Rosie M Banks, and the last ones with Uxbridge. Very enjoyable.
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Service With a Smile (1961) by P.G. Wodehouse
I cannot recall if I've read this one before or not. Either way, I'm happy to be back in the wonderful world of Wodehouse
Service With a Smile is the final Uncle Fred novel and the 10th Blandings Castle novel
With the Duke of Dunstable trying to steal his pig to sell to Lord Tilbury, mischievous Church Lads camping in his park, his sister Constance bossing him unmercifully, and Lavender Briggs, his secretary, making life miserable, Lord Emsworth has little time to concentrate on the invasion of Blandings Castle by yet another impostor. But Bill Bailey, a.k.a. Cuthbert Meriwether, has inveigled himself into the castle to be with his beloved, Myra Schoonmaker, who is staying there under the eagle eye of Lady Constance, and Lady Constance is determined to thwart him.
Nigeyb wrote: "I've just started....Service With a Smile (1961) by P.G. Wodehouse
I cannot recall if I've read this one before or not. Either way, I'm happy to be back in the won..."
Is this the one where Bosham and the grandson appear? I can never quite remember which is which from the name alone.
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No - here's the synopsis Lady C....
Service With A Smile features Duke of Dunstable trying to steal Lord Emsworth's pig to sell to Lord Tilbury, mischievous Church Lads are camping in Lord Emsworth's park, Lord Emsworth's sister Constance is bossing him unmercifully, and Lavender Briggs, Lord Emsworth's secretary, is making life miserable. So Lord Emsworth has little time to concentrate on the invasion of Blandings Castle by yet another impostor. But Bill Bailey, a.k.a. Cuthbert Meriwether, has inveigled himself into the castle to be with his beloved, Myra Schoonmaker, who is staying there under the eagle eye of Lady Constance, and Lady Constance is determined to thwart him.
Thankfully the Earl of Ickenham, better known as Uncle Fred, whose own particularly devious brand of sweetness and light aims to banish blackmailers and pig-stealers and restore true love all over the castle grounds.
I'm now well into it and, it turns out, this is one I'd yet to read. Joy is unconfined. Indeed I'd go so far as to venture....
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in his heaven—
All's right with the world!
Nigeyb wrote: "Lady Clementina wrote: "Is Service With A Smile the one where Bosham and the grandson appear? I can never quite remember which is which from the name alone"No - here's the synopsis ..."
Ah--I must revisit this one soon--only remember it vaguely. Thanks :)
I'm almost certain I read that one many years ago and it was one I loved. Perhaps this would be a good time for a read/reread.
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Any time is a good time for a PGW reread
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Service With a Smile (1961) by P.G. Wodehouse"
Finished
The cast of Blandings are all in fine form, and this is another Wodehouseian delight.
4/5
Review here.....
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Full Moon (1947) (Blandings Castle #7)
Joy is, naturally, unconfined. Let the mirth commence.
When the moon is full at Blandings, strange things happen: among them the commissioning of a portrait of The Empress, twice in succession winner in the Fat Pigs Class at the Shropshire Agricultural Show. What better choice of artist, in Lord Emsworth's opinion, than Landseer. The renowned painter of The Stag at Bay may have been dead for decades, but that doesn't prevent Galahad Threepwood from introducing him to the castle - or rather introducing Bill Lister, Gally's godson, so desperately in love with Prudence that he's determined to enter Blandings in yet another imposture. Add a gaggle of fearsome aunts, uncles and millionaires, mix in Freddie Threepwood, Beach the Butler and the gardener McAllister, and the moon is full indeed.
Reading the 20th Century
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P.G. Wodehouse (other topics)P.G. Wodehouse (other topics)
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I saw that one once--not bad though somehow no one seems to capture the books perfectly.